I've seen Pathfinders go where XJs wouldn't dare, and those have a bendy front axle.

That's cuz Pathfinder owners were stupid not to buy a Jeep. So they try to beat the **** out of them so they can replace it with a Jeep.
The difference: Go wheel a SFA Jeep for a year, and follow it everywhere with an IFS, and see who has more broken parts. 1 trip doesn't tell much of a story.

That's cuz Pathfinder owners were stupid not to buy a Jeep. So they try to beat the **** out of them so they can replace it with a Jeep.
The difference: Go wheel a SFA Jeep for a year, and follow it everywhere with an IFS, and see who has more broken parts. 1 trip doesn't tell much of a story.

It depends on the type of wheeling.

Slow speed crawling over big rocks: SFA is better.
Higher speed runs (on pretty much any surface): IFS is better.
Mud / Sand: Doesn't matter as long as the parts in each are strong enough.

Agreed! But bone stock, in mud or sand, I've seen A-arms give out before TRE's.

It all depends on the vehicle, how beefy the front end is, what's known for giving out first and how well the driver knows the vehicle. There are certainly poor designs out there, but that doesn't mean they're all bad.

You know you drive a ZJ when your wife takes your zj and leaves you with her car so you take that to go check the ice on your favorite fishing hole and it comes back looking like this! That will teach her!